"A special player": Ex-RR spinner defends Riyan Parag amid 'vaping' controversy during IPL 2026

Former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin backs the Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Riyan Parag amid the ongoing controversies related to him. Parag is among the cricketers in the Indian Premier League who are considered superb talent, but often make headlines for the wrong reasons.

While Parag’s on-field behavior and off-field activities are causing headaches for the RR captain, Ravichandran Ashwin joins the debate in support of his former teammate. Ashwin, who is mostly remembered for his stints with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, played three seasons for the Rajasthan Royals as well.

R Ashwin steps in to support Riyan Parag

As Ashwin played for the Royals, he knew Parag very well. In support of the 24-year-old captain and batter, R Ashwin mentioned that Riyan Parag is a special player, but people often misunderstood him.

In a recent event, during the live IPL 2026 match, Parag was spotted smoking in the dressing room. He was allged of consuming e-ciggerate, which is a banned product in India. A camera on the field captured the exact moment when the RR leader was smoking inside the dressing room.

The Rajasthan Royals skipper was caught red-handed smoking inside the dressing room during a live match

Several clips of the video and photos went viral rapidly on social media platforms, with criticisms from cricket fans. Despite the mounting pressure, Parag played a stunning knock against the Delhi Capitals in Jaipur on Friday night.

As one of the middle-order batters of the team. Riyan Parag produced a 90-run knock against 50 balls, which was powered by eight 4s and five 6s. With the skipper’s impactful knock, the home team, Rajasthan Royals, scored 225 in the first innings, which was eventually hunted down by the visiting team, Delhi Capitals.

He is a sweet boy: Ashwin

Through a social media post, R Ahswin tried to shift the focus to the batting credentials of Parag from the running controversies.

“Agree or not, Riyan Parag is a special player. He is letting his bat do all the talking today,” Ashwin wrote on his ‘X’ post.

In the comment section of the post, one of the cricket fans wrote that the young batter has everything a batter should have, but Parag has issues like rude behaviour and overconfidence.

Agree or not, Riyan Parag is a special player.

He is letting his bat do all the talking today. pic.twitter.com/KbcHI82pkI

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) May 1, 2026

“Apart from his rude behaviour and overconfidence, he seems to have all bases covered as a player. Good technique, good captaincy, attacking mindset. Just that he needs to find consistency and be more polite and humble,” the comment reads.

Ashwin replied soon. The former cricketer mentioned that as he shared dressing with Riyan Parag, he knows him as a person very well. Ashwin feels that people from the outside often judge the Rajasthan Royals' talent in the wrong way.

“I have shared the dressing room with him, and I think he is a sweet, misunderstood kid,” Ashwin responded.

However, despite losing the match against the Delhi Capitals, RR is still at the fourth spot of the points table, and has a strong chance to book a berth in the play-offs.

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